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Real Privacy on Your Own Island in the Florida Keys — Until You Want Company

The property comes with access to an exclusive club community

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Listing of the Day

Location: Key Largo, FloridaPrice: $95 million

What’s better than owning a private island? Owning a private island that comes with membership to one of the world’s most exclusive clubs.

Pumpkin Key, a 26-acre island in the tropics of Card Sound Bay, is part of Ocean Reef Club, an elite community in Key Largo, Fla. The mainland community is made up of 1,700 estates — two of which will also belong to the buyer of Pumpkin Key. The island hideaway is just three minutes by boat from this vibrant vacation spot.

The relationship between the island, named for its pumpkin-like shape, and Ocean Reef, like so many diplomatic alliances, can be traced to natural resources — namely, water. Those seeking a private island know that it’s next to impossible to find one with self-sufficient water and electric. Pumpkin Key is one of few private islands on the planet that has both — thanks to the island’s previous owners and their ties to the Ocean Reef Club.

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The family of Chicago industrialists who purchased the island in 1970, then a completely bare piece of land, wisely installed water and electric from shore, buried under the bay bottom.

The Stats

As of now, the island has a three-bedroom main residence, two caretaker cottages, and a dock master's apartment.

The buyer of Pumpkin Key will be able to build up to 12 half-acre homes on the bay. Water and electric are already pulled to each and every house site.

Amenities

Pumpkin Key has a 20-slip marina with more than 18 feet of draft, meaning parking your mega-yacht won’t pose a problem.

Tennis courts in the center of the island serve as a helipad. Tree-lined golf cart paths line the island’s perimeter.

Neighborhood Notes

Belonging to Ocean Reef Club has its perks, starting with the amenities. There is a 175-slip marina, championship golf courses, world-class tennis and lawn sports, a state-of-the-art spa and fitness center, a grocery store, eight restaurants, bars and luxury shopping.

For those seeking a bit of culture, there’s an art league with classes and exhibitions, a cultural center, a cooking school and a performance/lecture series (past guests have included Liza Minelli and Colin Powell). Kids have access to Nike summer sports camps, drama camps, in addition to other activities planned by the club’s recreational staff.

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Families will be relieved to know that Ocean Reef also has a medical center with round-the-clock ER service, veterinary care and its own fire-trained security team. There’s even a year-round, independent K-8th school called The Academy.

So what’s the Ocean Reef community really like? Listing agent Russell Post of Russell Post Sotheby’s International Realty first came to the club in 1973. He describes it as a family-oriented club. The international luxury community is decidedly low-key — you’re more likely to see young people zipping around on golf carts than cruising in Bentleys or Rolls-Royces. When asked just how close-knit the Ocean Reef families become, Post laughs and says. “Well, I personally know over 30 kids who have met their spouses at the club.”

Agent: Russell Post, Russell Post Sotheby’s International Realty

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